On Our Radar

On Our Radar

Dow Trades About 60 Points Shy Of 19,000 Milestone

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday is about 60 points away from touching the psychologically significant level of 19,000. The ascent for the Dow industrials , which carved out a fresh intraday record of 18,947.44 comes as three other major stock-market benchmarks hit historic highs on the same day, including the S&P 500 index at 2,197.55, the Nasdaq Composite Index at 5,364.93 and the small-cap index Russell 2000 , which touched an all-time intraday high of of 1,323.72. The last time all four stock-market gauges hit records on the same day was Dec. 29, 1999, according to Dow Jones data. MarketWatch's Bill Watts touches on some of the stats related to the Dow's historic move in this piece. A multisession rally for equities comes on the heels of President-elect Donald Trump's surprising victory against Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump's proposals to deregulate certain markets, including banking, and rev up investing in the countries worn-out bridges and tunnels has delivered a jolt to the broader equity market. However, skeptics are concerned about Trump's ability to follow through with his proposals and that valuations for stocks may be elevated, as the bond market is selling off, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note trading at 2.3% compared with 1.6% at the end of September, according to FactSet data. Bond prices rise as yields fall, and appetite for stocks usually coincides with a slump in bond prices.